Watch out for the Covid Patrol: Cops on bikes make sure people stay home
The bike patrols penetrate densely populated neighbourhoods and ensure strict compliance of the lockdown
nNEW DELHI: In a congested lane of Zamrudpur in south Delhi, HT listens in to a conversation between a policeman on a motorcycle who has just stopped a man:
“Why are you out of your home?,” asked the policeman. “Sir, I need to buy milk.”
“Is it? Then you must be carrying cash. Show me the money”.
No, it was not a demand for a bribe. The policeman was trying to ascertain whether the man had a genuine reason to be outside amid the 21-day country-wide lockdown that began on March 25.
As it turns out, the man who we met earlier did in fact have the money and the policeman allowed him to pass with a reminder: “Stay home, stay safe.”
“Fake excuses will not be tolerated,” another policeman announced through a loudhailer to a small group of people walking towards them.
These policemen are part of ‘Covid Patrol’, an initiative of the South Delhi district police to penetrate densely populated neighbourhoods and ensure a strict compliance to the lockdown.
Forty such motorcycles -- with ‘#COVID PATROL’ marked on red and blue tapes over their headlamps -- were rolled out on Wednesday. Each police station in the district would have two to three such motorcycles.
“These motorcycle patrols will ensure police presence in areas that other police vehicles may not be able to enter. They will brief shopkeepers, keep the roads empty and also prosecute violators in areas where residents feel they may get away without a punishment,” said Atul Kumar Thakur, DCP (south).
To see the situations they face and how they tackle them, Hindustan Times on Thursday followed one such team of four policemen riding two motorcycles as they rode out of the Greater Kailash police station.
“We will be taking rounds every hour. I don’t want to see you here when we return,” head constable Ravinder Singh told a man sweeping dry leaves outside a bungalow in Greater Kailash-1.
The motorcycles raced ahead, but Singh kept turning around to make sure the man had gone back into the house.
As they rode past bungalows in this posh neighbourhood, guards and men washing cars rushed toward their gates. “Wash your hands with soap before you enter the house,” constable Umesh Chaudhary, riding pillion on another motorcycle, told them.
They ignored a small group of people outside a grocery shop, paused to see if another shop had the markings for social distancing among customers, and let an elderly man proceed home once he produced a medical prescription.
As the motorcycle patrols reached a traffic junction, they bumped into a youngster riding a scooter.
“I am a distributor with a spices firm,” the moped rider said. The policemen weren’t convinced and parked their motorcycle, bombarded him with a series of questions and checked his documents before giving him the go-ahead.
Amidst the lockdown, only essential service providers, and those who have been issued curfew passes by the Delhi Police or the Delhi government, are allowed to move on the roads.
Until this point, the policemen had it easy. The roads were deserted and the policemen rode the patrol at a decent pace and sounded their sirens.
Scenes were quite different once they ventured into Zamrudpur. People here walked the streets, vendors sold vegetable and fruit, and children played in groups of threes and fours.
The policemen parked their motorcycles and began rounding up those who appeared to be out without a reason. One man said he was returning home after giving lunch to his cousin who lives alone.
“Tell him to cook at home or ask him to stay with you,” head constable Tara Chand said while taking down his contact details.
Another man, Sanjeet Kumar, said he was walking to his friend’s home to ask for bank account details. “You think I am an idiot? Couldn’t you just call him? Next time I see you outside, you’ll be locked up at the police station,” Chand said. The man ran off the moment he was let off.
The policemen took down details of men who didn’t carry identity proofs, didn’t offer believable excuses and those who rode out together to buy groceries. “Are you hoarding that two of you are required to visit a shop,” Hawa Singh, a constable carrying an AK-47 rifle, asked two such scooter riders.
“We remember your faces. I don’t want to see you again when I return,” Singh warned them.
While these men escaped without any legal action on Thursday, the Delhi Police have been prosecuting hundreds of people every day for violating the lockdown, booking them under the Indian Penal Code or under the Delhi Police Act. On Friday alone, the police detained around 3560 persons who were loitering on the city streets without any valid reason or emergency.
The policemen seemed helpless when it came to children playing in the streets. “Beta, go to your homes,” a policeman pleaded with them, while another asked around to know who their parents were. The children ran to continue playing elsewhere.